A rose by any other name would be labelled prickly
Notes
Transcript
Ask Someone to come up to the front to hold my water. Show them how I want them to hold it and then leave it there.
Set the stage.
The Israelites have just seen a miracle after miracle, the plagues, the first passover, the parting of the red sea, the manna and quail from heaven. Now they needed water to drink. Moses had just taken them to a rock and water gushed forth for them to drink. They did it so much that Moses actually named the place Massah which means test and Meribah which means arguing because the people of Israel arued with Moses and the tested the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord with us or not?"
I think our culture is a little like this right now. A lot of people are asking Is the Lord here with us or not?
I think sometimes like the Israelites we can feel the same way, we forget what God does in our lives. One of my favorite songs recently is by Crowder Good God Almighty. He talks about this in the song, He says, I can't count the times I've called your name some broken night. And you showed up and patched me up like you do every time, I get amnesia. I forget that you keep coming around. Ain't no way you'll ever let me down.
But maybe your a little like me and might need a reminder every now again. take a drink
I think with the climate in our society right now many people are asking this question, Is the Lord here with us or not? They are looking for a definitive answer. I believe there is a fear among people that this is the end. What I believe is not what we are getting into here, what we are getting into though is how God answers their question with another battle.
Read scripture Exodus 17:8-16
Take a drink
Moses commanded Joshua to choose some men.
There is something significant that happens here that we need to be aware of Joshua up until this point had been known as Hoshea which means salvation or he saves But in this moment Moses gave him the name Joshua, which means The Lord saves. Everytime someone spoke his name from this day forward Joshua was reminded The Lord saves, It is not my power and it is not my salvation to offer it is the Lords.
This had and continues to have significant meaning. Our names mean something.
Talk about Cassandra's name - Where it came from? Who it represents? Why it means something to me?
Then talk about the label Cassandra wears as my daughter. That label describes where she fits. She is the daughter of Ken and Jenn. She is the mother of Zariah, She is the sister of and then we move outside of the family and she is a friend, then she is a worker, the labels keep coming and what happens is people see one side of us, they give us a label and put us in a box neatly labelled. If we believe those negative labels we will stay in the negative box with our labels. The same is true if we stay in the box with the positive labels are boxes become building blocks and not stumbling blocks. Take a drink
Moses commanded Joshua to gather a team for battle. Why wouldn't Moses assign the team? After all Moses is the leader. Moses knew if Joshua was to be faithful in serving the Lord the team around him needed to be those that He trusted. That he had a relationship with and that he knew felt the same passion about this battle that he had.
He also knew his role in this situation. He was not to go to the battle on a horse but he was to go to battle in the heavenly's by holding the staff up. Moses also had has team, Hur and Aaron, up to the top of the hill they climbed.
Do the water cup illistration here?
Just like everytime Moses arms fell the enemy got the upperhand, everytime I stopped to take a drink the sermon was interupted. Everytime I took a drink your thought process changed. It broke into the space that God was invading. Each time Moses arms dropped that is what happened to Joshua and his men, The enemy began to get the upper hand, I imagine their thought process changed drastically from one moment to the next as Moses was able to raise his hand.
Even though in life we are all in different places, doing different battles, as we come along side people in their lives either through prayer or physical we need each other for the battle.
Then God said to Moses write this down on a scroll and make sure Joshua reads it. These stories of God moving must be written down so not a single thing is forgotten. Why? Because God is in all the details. Seeing how God moved in the past helps us to see how we got to where we are and where God is asking us to go.
Read the Mrs. SToddard story.
As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.
It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."
His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."
His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper That he got from a grocery bag Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children left, she cried for at least an hour.
On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling* her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for* believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)